Russ Diamond
Background * Founder of PA Clean Sweep in 2005. * A professional musician, Diamond became a millionaire after opening a CD and DVD manufacturing and duplication service called Raintree. His first foray into politics was in 2004, when he ran for both the U.S. House and the State House of Representatives as a Libertarian. In 2005, he formed PACleanSweep, an organization dedicated to ousting incumbent state legislators, particularly those who supported a much-hated pay raise last year. In the spring primary of 2006, the group scored several major victories, unseating eight incumbent legislators, including the Senate Majority Leader and President Pro Temp. He is now running as an Independent candidate for Governor on a platform of abolishing the property tax, convening a Constitutional Convention, and reducing the size of state government. : Reply from Russ Diamond, Well if I'm a millionaire, then somebody ought to tell my bank! My mechanic, too - because that '95 Windstar "luxury ride" is sitting in front of his garage waiting on a new transmission. 50,000+ miles on PA roads since last July took their toll! Media Russ Diamond for Governor -- Issues Page from May, 2006 Restore Integrity and Accountability to Harrisburg This is Job One in Pennsylvania. Revelations from within government since the now-infamous Pay Raise of 2005 indicate a need to take a good hard look at the behavior of the people we elect to public office. This starts with the Governor, whose main duty is to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed," beginning with our most fundamental law - the Constitution. Facilitate a Constitutional Convention Our state Constitution is lacking in only one area: enforcement. As your Independent Governor, I will do everything in my power to enforce the Constitution. However, there are some issues Pennsylvanians should discuss in an open forum, away from the three branches of government. The main goals of any Constitution Convention must be reinforcing and strengthening limitations on those who govern, improving the democratic process and preserving our republican form of government. Reduce the Size and Cost of State Government We must examine every government expenditure and program by asking four important questions: :#. What are the ultimate goals of the expenditure or program? (Why are we doing it?) :#. Are those goals consistent with the governmental powers enumerated and allowed by the PA Constitution? (Is it legal?) :#. Is the intended outcome unavailable or impossible from private sources? (Is government the best provider?) :#. Are we spending tax dollars in the most efficient manner to accomplish the stated goals? (What is the cost/benefit ratio?) Eliminate Property Taxes and Fairly Fund Public Education Property taxes are an outdated method of providing the financing for public schools. However, of all property tax "reform" packages proposed in Harrisburg, however, few - if any - take a serious look at the spending side. The two go hand in hand and cannot be dealt with separately. Plan for the Looming Pension Crisis The cost of public employee retirement benefits are expected to balloon from approximately $693 million this year to $4.2 billion in Fiscal Year 2012-13. We must take a sober look at this impending crisis and make the difficult decisions required to successfully address it without increasing the tax burden of Pennsylvanians. Repeal Act 71 (the slots bill) Regardless of anyone's support or opposition to expanded gaming in Pennsylvania, Act 71 - the slots bill - was passed in the same unconstitutional manner as the pay raise. Additionally, the related political contributions and influence have given the impression of a failure to insist on absolute integrity. We must repeal Act 71 and revisit the decision to bring up to 61,000 slot machines into our Commonwealth. Pursue Real Economic Development The results of past efforts at economic development have been disappointing at best. Pennsylvania's economic standing remains dismal despite the "investment" of billions of taxpayer dollars. True economic development can only come from a private sector that enjoys lower taxation and less regulation. The economic prospects of all Pennsylvanians can only improve by getting government out of the way of those who are actually capable of creating wealth, jobs and prosperity. Address the Health Care Crisis Pennsylvania has the second oldest population in the nation and our seniors - and all Pennsylvanians - deserve affordable access to health care services. All participants in the health care sector - doctors, patients, hospitals, insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, suppliers and government - must come together to solve this problem. Addressing any single aspect is only a partial solution and all participants must be willing to make some concessions. Provide Complete Governmental Transparency There is no reason why all government documents and records cannot be made freely available in electronic form to all citizens, with the exception of those which would invade the privacy of individuals. Bills, resolutions, transcipts, journals, committee reports, every vote by members of the General Assembly, the actions of the Executive and Judicial branches, and all communications between the three branches must be freely and easily accessible. We have the technology, the resources and the expertise. We simply need to focus our attention on getting it done. - - - Diamond Russ Diamond . Org Candidate platform reposted here as an example. This page is protected and not able to be changed. Put your comments into the discussion page. See the tab at the top. 1. Freedom and Responsibility for All Because we believe so firmly in our individual right to choose and to accept the accompanying responsibilities of those choices, we also accept and champion the equal rights and responsibilities of all other individuals regardless of our approval or disapproval of their personal choices. 2. Government Finances i. Taxation We oppose any taxation of the majority of individuals for the benefit of a few, or any economic redistribution in which the assets of any one group of individuals are shifted to another through taxation or seizure. We believe any taxation, if necessary, must be levied in a fair and equitable manner for all individuals. ii. Changes in Taxation We believe any changes in rates or methods of taxation should require two-thirds approval by voter referendum. iii. Deficit Spending We recognize government deficit spending and its manipulation of monetary policy as the root causes of the hidden tax of inflation. We support a moratorium on all government budget deficits. iv. Privatization We support careful examination of all government services, programs and policies with an eye on privatization. We believe the incentive of profit and the competition of a truly free market will naturally create efficient public services in exchange for reasonable fees. The private sector by its very nature is uniquely suited to reduce the costs of providing and administering services in a way that no government can. We believe government's role should be limited to setting a framework of standards and measures by which the private sector can freely compete to provide public services. v. Government Funding We believe the operational costs of government should be raised according to the user-fee model. Taxation, only when deemed absolutely necessary and approved by referendum, must be levied in a fair and equitable manner for all individuals. We oppose the imposition of federal oversight onto any state or local issue under the guise of funding requirements. vi. Government Employment We believe employees or elected officials of a representative government are not entitled to any special privileges generally unavailable to private sector employees. We believe public employees do, however, bear additional personal responsibilities in matters of public trust as an inherent part of their willingness to accept government employment. We support government wage and benefit packages keyed to fair market value as determined by evidence from similar employment in the private sector. We believe hiring, promotion and termination within government must be conducted without prejudice to any individuals or group of individuals and be based solely on the merits of ability, experience and achievement. vii. The Death Tax We oppose any seizure or taxation of assets willed, or left by default, to the heirs or assigns of any deceased individual. viii. Tax Collection We oppose any law or regulation requiring individuals or groups to serve as tax collectors for any government agency without fair and equitable compensation. ix. Loan Guarantees We support a moratorium on all government loan guarantee programs. We believe lenders and creditors must solely bear the risks and consequences of their lending policies just as they should expect to solely reap the fruits of those same policies. We believe government should have no role in the lending or borrowing of money between individuals and/or other private entities. 3. Crime i. Definitions Only actions that infringe upon the rights of other individuals or their justly acquired property can be properly termed crimes. Actions that do not infringe upon the rights of other individuals, commonly called "victimless crimes," cannot be properly termed crimes and should be decriminalized. ii. Violent Crime Free from the burden of prosecuting victimless crimes, our law enforcement agencies, criminal justice system and correctional facilities can dedicate more resources to separating violent offenders from society at large. iii. Non-Violent Crime No justice is derived from housing non-violent offenders at the expense of hard-working citizens. We believe restitution and community service, applied appropriately, can better serve the twin goals of punishment and rehabilitation. iv. Self-Defense We support any individual's right to defend their lives, families and justly acquired property against any direct invasion or attack, including the use of reasonable force if necessary. v. Safeguards for the Accused We believe all criminally accused persons must be accorded full respect for their individual rights and responsibilities until such time as they are proved guilty, without exception. vi. Plea Bargaining We recognize the plea bargain can be a useful tool in gathering information in order to pursue and prosecute more dangerous criminals, however we do not support its use solely as a means of obtaining a guilty plea. vii. Trials and Juries We oppose forced jury duty and support fair market value compensation for those who choose to serve. We support the selection of jurors from society as a whole as opposed to a particular group of individuals such as registered voters or property owners. We support the freedom of juries to judge not only the facts of a case, but also the justice of the law and its application. viii. Criminal Sentencing We advocate truth-in-sentencing policies in which sentences are fair, just and served in full. We oppose incarceration without mandatory service directly benefiting the offenders' victims and/or society as a whole. ix. Capital Punishment Just as no individual has an inherent right to take the life of another, representative government, having no higher moral authority than any person it governs, cannot assume the right take the life of any individual. x. Financial Burdens We believe the financial burden of any case before a court should be assigned fairly and equitably in accordance with the findings of the jury and/or court. We believe full financial responsibility for housing prisoners must fall upon the imprisoned, secondary only to their responsibility of restitution to their victims. 4. Health Care We advocate the restoration of an open market health care system free from the costly burden of governmental interference and regulation. We believe medical practitioners, in concert with patients, offer the best resources for determining medical goals, standards and ethics. We support tort reform, in regards to non-economic damages, in the interest of reducing the spiraling costs of medical malpractice insurance. 5. Families and Children We hold that family units and households are private institutions, each collectively subject to the same inherent rights and responsibilities accorded to individuals. We believe parents or heads of households hold the sole right of stewardship over the lives of minor individuals in their charge. We hold this right inseparable from the personal responsibility to protect those minors from abuse, abandon or reckless neglect. Further, we hold that guardians of minors have the inherent responsibility, if unable or unwilling to raise their charges, to arrange for proper care of such minors with other individuals or entities willing and qualified to assume guardianship. While children are individuals with inherent rights, we recognize society's right and responsibility to deny them certain privileges of adulthood. We support the right of any minor to demonstrate his or her understanding and full acceptance of the rights and responsibilities of adulthood, and to be emancipated from any guardian's charge through due process, regardless of age. 6. Abortion We believe good faith arguments can be found on both sides of the abortion issue, however without clear evidential distinction regarding the status of a fertilized egg in its various stages of growth as an individual, this issue will continue to be determined by one's faith. As such, we believe government has no inherent authority to legislate, mandate or fund any program or law supporting one group's belief system over another's. We call to question the emphasis of public debate on the morality of abortion as a political issue. We believe the public's attention in this matter should not be on the merits of any individual's right to terminate pregnancy, rather it should be focused on the very personal rights and long-term responsibilities inherent in the prerequisite issue of unplanned or unwanted pregnancies. 7. Education We believe tax-funded, mandated public education has developed into an administrative and regulation driven top-down system and continues to fall short in preparing our children for adulthood. We believe the right of stewardship for any child's education belongs solely to the parent or guardian and is inseparable from the right to choose how this education is best achieved, be it from locally controlled public schools, private institutions or home schooling. We believe teachers in our current educational system should be released from any state-mandated curriculum requirements, free to teach in the manner they deem appropriate for their students, and accountable only to local authority and parents. 8. Gun Control While gun control advocates may have good intentions, we hold that responsible firearm ownership by law-abiding citizens is a natural extension of the inherent right of self-defense. We also hold that a gun is merely an inanimate object, as is a knife, a club or an automobile, and any individual in possession of such objects solely bears the rights and responsibilities of their proper use, maintenance and storage. We believe government prohibition, regulation or registration of firearms, beyond the public's desire to keep them out of the hands of criminally violent or mentally unstable persons, suppresses the right of individuals to defend their lives, families and justly acquired property against invasion or attack. We believe legislation regarding control of any inanimate object must only relate to its criminal use against another individual's rights or its safe use on public properties. 9. Public Utilities and Government Sponsored Monopolies We find government regulation and control of public utilities and services to be contrary to a free market economy. While we agree some property of public necessity, such as highways, sewers or other infrastructure, is best held in public trust, we believe any use, maintenance and improvement of these holdings are better managed by subjection to fair and equitable competition within the private sector. 10. Poverty, Welfare and Government Subsidies We view existing government assistance programs as excessive and equivalent to economic redistribution by involuntary seizure from hard working individuals. We believe all such programs should be reformed in a manner that would provide a "safety net" for the truly unfortunate, while encouraging individual responsibility for one's own life. We believe most individuals are genuinely compassionate and caring regarding their fellow man, and if freed from the excessive burden of government-imposed support for relief programs, can better exercise their individual right to choose how, or if, they offer any assistance to those less fortunate. We believe additional benefits to be gained from such a private assistance system are: i.) the weaning of underprivileged individuals from paternalistic and demeaning government oversight; ii.) the reduction of administrative costs of such aid, and; iii.) a reinforcement of recipients' personal rights, responsibilities and pride. We oppose any government relief, subsidy or tax incentive plan offered in the name of economic development or otherwise intended as a means of artificially fostering economic growth. 11. Homeland Security We are acutely aware of the dangers posed to our lives, families, justly acquired property and public holdings by saboteurs, terrorists and other agents of hate, both foreign and domestic. We cannot, however, support any legislation or executive order abrogating the rights or responsibilities of any accused individual prior to conviction. 12. The Economy and Trade We believe one of our inherent individual rights is the freedom to buy, sell or trade goods and services on the open market, free from government interference or control. We also believe the fruits of any individual's labor belong exclusively to that individual to dispose of in any manner he or she wishes. We oppose any government manipulation of the economic realm, apart from providing a framework in which voluntary and free trade is encouraged and protected. We recognize inflation, recession, depression and all other forms of "boom and bust" cycles as direct results of governmental manipulation of monetary policies and its propensity for deficit spending. We hold that the only sound economic policy is to allow the free market, based on an established monetary standard with intrinsic value, to ebb and flow at its natural pace. IV. Summary We believe the application of these principles, in a manner that is fair and equitable to all individuals, can lead to a simpler and more practical system of government, free from the financial power struggles currently dominating the political landscape. While there may be difficulties in immediately instituting any of these suggested reforms or goals in full, we call for a governmental shift in their direction. We hereby affirm that we do not support or advocate the initiation of violence or fraud as a means of achieving political or social change. V. Candidate's Request for Mandate It is with these and other like principles in mind that I submit to you my offer of service as the 101st District's voice in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. I will abide by the principles herein and respectfully serve as your Representative in the act of conducting the business of the Commonwealth. Russ Diamond Libertarian Candidate Links More Platform * Diamond gives reaction to recent statements from Lynn Swann as posted on the blog in May, 2006. Has many points and counterpoints. wiki * VIPs Diamond